Ask a child to draw a neighborhood, and they’ll likely offer an image of a squares with a triangles on top, not doodles of round houses. Though walls with right angles and pitched roofs may be the most common archetype when it comes to residences, circular homes are arguably more interesting, simply because of how unique they are. Round design stretches back centuries—think igloos, teepees, and yurts—and the designs of many historic cultures are often based on circular forms.
Round houses offer many benefits. In addition to simply requiring less building materials, they are typically more energy efficient compared to square homes. Circular homes are also more resistant to hurricanes and extreme weather, as wind blows around them, diverting a buildup of pressure on one side.
Throughout design history, a number of (literal) outside-the-box thinkers have tried to reinvigorate interest in round design (think Buckminster Fuller), and yet, the shape is still generally the exception, not the rule, when it comes to residential architecture. Nonetheless, there is still an incredible collection of round houses around the world to examine. Below, AD surveys the world’s 10 most remarkable round houses.